1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to tool cases that are designed to hold tools in an organized manner. More particularly, the present invention relates to tool cases that hold paintbrushes of various types and sizes.
2. Prior Art Description
Paintbrushes have been in existence for thousands of years. In this long history, paintbrushes have been made in a countless number of styles. In modern times, paintbrushes are typically comprised of three parts. Those parts include the handle, the bristles and the metal band that binds the bristles to the handle.
Even though most all paintbrushes contain handles, bristles and bands, the quality of these components vary widely. A paintbrush with a two-inch wide span of bristles can vary in price between one dollar and twenty dollars, depending upon the quality of the parts used in the construction of the paintbrush. Inexpensive paintbrushes are often used only once and are discarded. However, high quality paintbrushes may be used by a painter for years. High quality paintbrushes have a large number of synthetic bristles that hold a good volume of paint when dipped into paint. Although the bristles pick up paint well, the paint does not readily bond to the bristles. The paint can therefore be removed from the bristles by washing the paintbrush in water or another appropriate solvent.
If a paintbrush is not washed immediately after it is used, the paint may dry on the paintbrush. Regardless of the quality of the paintbrush, dried paint is nearly impossible to remove from brush bristles and the paintbrush becomes ruined.
Painters often change paintbrushes as they paint different colors or move to different surfaces during a job. Accordingly, a painter then must often wash paintbrushes so that the paintbrushes can be used again. Typically, a painter stores used paintbrushes in a paint pail or a box. When stored in such a manner, however, the paintbrushes can become damaged. If stored improperly, the bristles of the paintbrush may lay bent as they dry. This may create permanent deflections in the bristles of the paintbrush. Furthermore, a poorly stored paintbrush can be contaminated with dust, dirt and other debris. This foreign material mixes with the paint when the paintbrush is next used, causing a poor finish in the paint. Lastly, if a paintbrush is not provided adequate ventilation as it dries, water from the wet bristles may collect upon the metal band that holds the bristles in place. This often causes the metal band to rust. The rust then runs into the paint when the paintbrush is next used', thereby causing unsightly streaks in the paint.
In the prior art, organizational cases have been created to hold paintbrushes. However, the cases and paintbrushes are sold as a unit together, with the case being shaped to specifically hold only certain paintbrushes. Consequently, there is no room in the case for a paintbrush that was not sold with the case. Furthermore, such cases have compartments that are shaped to hold specific brush types. Consequently, a brush has to be placed back into its appropriate compartment each time. This makes such prior art brush cases difficult and impractical to use. Such prior art paintbrush cases are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,489 to Baker, entitled Paintbrush Case.
Furthermore, in prior art paintbrush cases, the individual paintbrushes are held in confined compartments. This close confinement prevents the bristles of the brush from rapidly drying. Additionally, the compartments typically hold the paintbrushes in a bristle up position, which prevents water from dripping out of the bristles. Both the close confinement and the bristle-up orientation tends to cause water to collect at the metal band of the paintbrush and cause rust.
A need therefore exists in the prior art for a paintbrush case that can hold a wide variety of paintbrushes of any shape and from any manufacturer, wherein the brushes can be quickly and easily added to, or removed from, the storage case. A need also exists for a case that enables paintbrushes to dry bristles-down while being protected from dust and other debris. These needs are met by the present invention as described and claimed below.